The 2008 TONY RANDALL GRANT, presented annually by the TONY RANDALL THEATRICAL FUND, will go to the RED BULL THEATER for their upcoming production of Thomas Middleton’s’ WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN opening late 2008.

The Tony Randall Grant is a $100,000 award given annually to a Tri-State area non-profit Equity theatre company for the production of a classic play, an adaptation of a classic play or a work inspired by the classics.

A $10,000 grant will also be awarded to the Classic Theatre of Harlem ($10,000) for its production of Moliere’s TARTUFFE, opening off-Broadway this fall.

This year, the Theatrical Fund received over 45 proposals from area theater companies. The 2008 Tony Randall Grant beneficiary was selected from a finalist pool of 10 very deserving companies. The 2008 Tony Randall Grant Selection Committee Members included Jed Bernstein, Martha Clarke, John Guare, Doug Wright, Jack Klugman, Brian Murray, Laila Robins, and Gary Springer.

The 2008 Tony Randall Grant is the third annual award. The prize was initially presented to the New York Theatre Workshop for its production of Martha Clarke’s KAOS. Last year’s recipient was The Mint Theater Company for its production of Leo Tolstoy’s 1886 tragedy THE POWER OF DARKNESS.

“The Tony Randall Theatrical Fund was created to honor Tony's memory as a producer and performer in the classical theatre. I strive to marry his sensibilities with the needs of the current theatre and our ever-evolving need to interpret the classics in a way that reaches a modern audience." states Heather Randall.

“We are absolutely honored to receive this amazing gift! This award is a wonderful testament to Tony Randall’s extraordinary and enduring impact on and in the American theater, and Red Bull Theater is thrilled to join the ranks of remarkable New York theater companies that have been lucky enough to be selected for support by the Tony Randall Theatrical Fund. We are excited to be able to use this grant to carry on Mr. Randall’s legacy of dedication to the classics by presenting a great, rarely-produced play by one of Shakespeare’s most prolific contemporaries, Thomas Middleton, in a production of his masterpiece, a tragicomedy of sexual oppression, WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN.” Jesse Berger, Red Bull Theater Company

WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN, by Thomas Middleton, is a rarely performed piece which speaks with a shockingly contemporary voice about sexual politics and women's rights. A Romeo and Juliet for adults, Livia, a widow, pursues sexual independence and in the process she destroys not only herself, but the innocent lives of those around her. WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN is a timely examination of the inherent pitfalls of a society that does not treat women equally and that treats love as a commodity.

Red Bull Theater is dedicated to the presentation of vital and imaginative productions of heightened language plays and to the development of new plays written in a similar vein. With a special focus on the Jacobean plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, Red Bull Theater aspires to challenge the intellect and engage the imagination of today’s theatergoers through company-created, resonantly provocative staging of great classic stories. Named for a London playhouse of the seventeenth century, the original Red Bull was the first of the English theaters to reopen after years of Puritan rule during which plays were banned. Founded in 2003, today’s Red Bull Theater embraces this rejuvenating spirit and aims to lead a renaissance of language-based classical theater in New York.

The National Actors Theatre was formed to produce the great classics of the theatrical cannon, performed by the world’s greatest actors. With Tony’s passing in 2004, his wife Heather founded the Tony Randall Theatrical Fund to continue his dream of supporting great theater. The Theatrical Fund gives donations to wide array of arts organizations encompassing the worlds of the performing arts, those that service the arts community as well as those that educate the young artist. The Tony Randall Grant was inaugurated in 2006.

1 comment:

Actually, both of those announcements sound great -- I'm thrilled as anyone else to know that Jesse Berger's going to have some extra cash to pump up his new season (and he doesn't seem like the sort of director to just throw money at a show -- he'll USE it), but it's also great to hear that Classic Theater of Harlem's going to do "Tartuffe." More Moliere, I say, and in as many different contexts and interpretations as possible. Given their work on "Trojan Women," they should at least have an interesting look for "Tartuffe."